The Theophoric Element Ba'Al in Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions

The following study analyzes the usage of the name Baıal in ancient Phoenician inscriptions. The analysis starts with the premise that the deity named Baıal played a major role in Canaanite religion, including the religion of the people of Israel. First of all, in order to understand correctly this phenomenon, our study sketches in broad lines the historical and religious context of the ancient Near East. Second, the study takes into account a series of corollary issues, like the concepts of “fertility” and the “Sacred Marriage”, in order to obtain as clear a picture as possible of the identity and character of the god Baıal. Third, the study focuses on a number of inscriptions from Phoenicia. A number of scholars have argued that these inscriptions represent our best evidence from Phoenicia to reconstructing the identity of Baıal.